LG has decided to quit the world of tablets and focus more on its smartphone business.

In an email to Bloomberg, Ken Hong, spokesman for LG commented: "We've decided to put all new tablet development on the back burner for the time being in order to focus on smartphones."

Last March, LG launched its first tablet, the Optimus Pad, and followed it up with an announcement for the Optimus Pad LTE. The latter of which is yet to ship out.

The problem for LG, with its Android based tablets, seems to be the inability to price them attractively. The Kindle Fire is probably the most attractively priced Android offering that is marketed at a $200 price point. LG's Optimus Pad on the other hand was launched at $529, before falling to $399. This is still almost twice the price of the Kindle Fire.

Company Articles

Apple's iPad, which is in a league of its own, starts at $499, and Microsoft's new Surface range is touted to cross the threshold at $900.

Judging from the current scenario, it seems that Apple and Microsoft are poised to dominate the high-end tablet market, whilst Android and other Windows 8 slates may be left fighting for a piece of the mid-range tablet market. This also means that in order to stay competitive, these manufacturers will have to be innovative and progressive with their offerings, whilst still being conservatively priced.

LG's decision to march ahead in the smartphone market is probably the best move for the manufacturer now. However, with Apple, Nokia, Blackberry, HTC and Samsung being contenders in the same arena, LG must continue to evolve and innovate if it doesn't want to be left in a trail of dust.